Motorway excavations in UK reveal prehistoric relics

London, Feb 4 : A motorway dig at Merseyside in UK has resulted in the discovery of more than 3,000 objects ranging from prehistoric to Roman times.

A report in BBC News has stated that the archaeological findings, which include flints, burnt hazelnuts, pottery and tiles, was found during excavations being carried out for a new link road at Junction six near Huyton.

The site was not important enough to block the motorway scheme and it is once again buried - below the new 38 million pounds Junction 6 at Tarbock Island.

The artifacts that were discovered at the site date from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age periods - around 5000 to 2000 BC, the report said.

According to Ron Cowell, curator of prehistoric archaeology at Liverpool Museum, the find is among the oldest in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire.

"Discoveries of settlements like this are quite common in upland areas like the Peak District, but in lowland places, which have been farmed for centuries and built upon time and again, it is very exciting," he said.

In total, the dig recovered more than 3,000 objects ranging from prehistoric to Roman, including pottery and tiles that were made for the 20th Roman Legion based in Chester around 167 AD.

"The Highways Agency takes its responsibility for our heritage very seriously and we are delighted to have found this window into the past," said Gary Hilton, Highways Agency project manager.

The artifacts will now go on public display at Liverpool's World Museum.